Feels like this month is dragging for these entries. Usually I can bang these things out without too much trouble (and you can tell the effort I put into them!), but it seems like it’s just painful so far this year. Alas. Well, once more into the breach!

Czarface & MF DOOM, “Bomb Thrown”

Czarface is Inspectah Deck (from the Wu-Tang Clan) teaming up with 7L & Esoteric, and they’ve gotten together for album-length collabs with MF DOOM and Ghostface Killah, which are their best records. Anything with DOOM on it is worth listening to, and these records are no exception. It’s not peak DOOM, but that’s too high of a bar.

Atmosphere, “Lovelife”

A thing that strikes me about listening to early Atmosphere (this is from their second album, 2002’s God Loves Ugly) is how young Slug sounds on these tracks. He still sounds like the same person later, but there’s less weariness in his tone here as opposed to his latest work.

Mastodon, “A Commotion”

Medium Rarities is a compilation that Mastodon put out in 2020 to gather all the miscellany from their career. This track is a good example: it’s from a split with Feist where they each covered each others’ songs. Mastodon are a strong enough band that a comp of their random crap is still worth listening to.

Sicko, “An Indie Rock Daydream”

We all have those bands that are special to us. We discovered them on our own, at the exact right time in our lives, and that connection carries them with us always. Sicko is one of those special bands for me. I hit them at the perfect time, I never get tired of listening to them, and I probably never will.

Andrew Bird, “Capsized”

Are You Serious, Andrew Bird’s 2016 album, found him introducing some new sounds to his palette to go along with a new home, Los Angeles. This song could almost be described as slinky, with the sort of soul sounds that are rarely heard earlier in his discography. Some of that comes from some new collaborators as side players, and I’m sure some of it is just conscious decision to change up his sound. It’s not a full reinvention or anything, but it’s different from the preceeding albums, which were gradually getting more and more stripped down and folky.

Latitudes, “Amnio”

I went and checked what I said about this band the last couple times they’ve come up, and I’ve described them as kind of doom, kind of post-rock each time. I stand by it! Good enough, let’s ship it!

Discordance Axis, “Oratorio in Grey”

And then we have the opposite end of metal, just pure grindcore speed and fury. It’s for the best that most of these songs are about a minute long.

Talib Kweli, “The Proud”

Black Star underwent a slow disintegration after their one and only record, one of the best hip-hop records ever. Mos Def pursued a solo career, leaving Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek to make a record together. Then, Kweli broke from Hi-Tek and made his first solo record without any of his Black Star collaborators, Quality. It’s my favorite of his pure solo records, although it doesn’t rise up to Black Star. Kweli has made a lot of records of a relatively consistent level of success, but I really only consider the records he’s done with Hi-Tek to be essential.

Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, “Down to the Fire”

Last time, I said that I liked Blood Lust more than The Night Creeper. And, yeah, I like this song! Go past me!

Benny Sings, “Familiar”

We don’t listen to a lot of stuff around here that’s just, you know, pop. But it can be a nice break every now and again to relax, put on something pretty and kind of undemanding. That sort of describes this record very well, but I enjoy it as a change of pace.

Mary Wells, “My Guy”

It’s a trifle, but it’s a very sweet one.

Muddy Waters, “You’re Gonna Need My Help”

We like to goof around with me not knowing shit about jazz around here, but I know so, so much less about blues.

Pussy Galore, “Solo = Sex”

Those trash can drums, disorganized but confident vocals, and primitive grooves are all hallmarks of Pussy Galore that Jon Spencer would carry forward and refine in JSBX, but even the neolithic version is plenty of fun.

All You Can Eat, “Family Matters”

Here on Five Songs, mostly, we like our punk to be DIY and forgotten, mostly. I’m fine with some of the glossier stuff, but the underground shit just feels a lot more vital. There’s nothing special about All You Can Eat exactly, but this is fun, they’re just having a good time, they’re outta there in two minutes, hell yeah buddy.

The Black Keys, “The Go Getter”

It’s really such a shame that the Black Keys broke up after Brothers, their triumphant return to their big stompin’ psychedelic songs. I wonder what would have happened to them had they had a chance to build on their increasing popularity, and where they might have gone from here.

Dave, “Streatham”

I wonder if Dave (this rapper, who is from the UK and is excellent) is frustrated by Dave, the guy from the TV show?

Ikebe Shakedown, “Unqualified”

The most recent album from Afro-beat/soul/funk band Ikebe Shakedown, who differentiate themselves from some of their peers with a bit more of a cinematic approach to these things, driven mostly by the horns. By this point, four albums in, their approach is very refined.

Oneohtrix Point Never, “Lost but Never Alone”

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never is probably my favorite record from him since Replica. In a lot of ways, it evokes that record, giving a rare treat of throwback sounds from an artist who is always restlessly exploring. There’s a metaphor of flipping around a radio that ties the record together, which also feeds into my love of plunderphonics.

Madness, “One Step Beyond”

The second wave of ska, the two-tone bands from the UK, did not last very long, and didn’t really encompass that many bands. Part of the problem is that by the time this stuff got noticed outside of the UK, the key bands had pretty much all broken up or stopped playing ska. But the highlights of the second wave are great, and Madness’ first album is one of those highlights. It’s a fine example of the melding of ska with punk energy, and it’s hard not to smile through this.